CLEAN, QUIET LP’s (inexpensive manual method)
I’m loving how quiet my dirty old lp’s sound.
Your problem helped me out, I now have a very successful inexpensive manual cleaning method. I am getting essentially no noise out of old dirty static filled lps. I just cleaned a few NEW lp’s, to check, no noise, so goodbye mold compounds, ..
If you get noise after this, something else is wrong!
......................
Listen to some music while doing this of course.
Wear thin plastic gloves to protect your hands and block finger oil
1. plastic sheet to protect the table below. smooth white, so you can see any/every speck. kitchen garbage bag, or, thin plastic table cloths from the party store, something.
2. lay lp flat
3. cover lp paper label with plastic lid diameter of label, i.e. chinese soup take-out lid.
4. spray cleaning fluid on lp (my home-made mix below)
5. CRITICAL: scrub fairly aggressively: circular, back and forth a few times, with soft multi bristle brush (pre-wet with cleaning fluid for 1st lp) try an lp you don’t care about, you will find you can be more aggressive than you think. this is what really cleans deep into the grooves.
6. flip, clean other side: place carefully so paper label goes down onto dry area of plastic
7. rinse in distilled water in the record cleaning kit. CRITICAL: Distilled Water ONLY!!! spin 2x each direction, it has fine brushes for final cleaning while rinsing.
8. use the two included cloths to handle/pre-dry the lp, and put in the included drying rack.
note: dry the center area of the plastic sheet where the paper label goes frequently with a separate cloth. dump distilled water after each batch of ten. rinse everything and dry between batches.
................................
Equipment
1. record cleaning kit with drying rack for 10 lps, $58.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GSSQ1MN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2. distilled water, $1.00 per gallon (check online for stock before going to the store)
https://grocery.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Distilled-Water-1-Gallon/10315382?wmlspartner=wlpa&se...
3. alcohol, 91%, $3.00
https://www.target.com/p/isopropyl-alcohol-91-32oz-up-up-8482/-/A-13970972?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&...
4. wetting agent. $4.00 I use Finish, Jet Dry (dishwasher stuff)
https://www.amazon.com/Finish-Jet-Dry-8-45oz-Dishwasher-Drying/dp/B0014E82II/ref=asc_df_B0014E82II/?...
5. soft multi-bristle brush, I found one in a drawer, but here’s a 3 pack, $9.00
https://smile.amazon.com/Scalp-Scrubbie-Sterile-Cradle-Sponge/dp/B005EJ7YH4/ref=sr_1_154_sspa?ascsub...=
..............................
my mix, nothing scientific, a small 6 oz spray bottle (8oz, 10, doesn’t matter)
1. a few drops of wetting agent
2. 1 cap of condensed cleaning fluid that came with the kit
3. fill with alcohol.
you may think it’s a pretty strong alcohol mix, but you will be rinsing right away, and, you will find, even that strong, finger oil spots will be very reduced but not fully disappear.
I’m loving how quiet my dirty old lp’s sound.
...................................
CLEAN STYLUS! Leave a small mirror on TT under your headshell, so you can see if the stylus is clean. Clean the stylus during if needed, and always after every listening session.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI8I2JM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
my friend uses gel stuff, loves it
https://coloredvinylrecords.com/blog/best-gel-type-stylus-cleaners/
............................
Still use Anti-Static brush before each play, DRY, just a light touch needed to get any paper sleeve dust, airborne dust.
I’m loving how quiet my dirty old lp’s sound.
Your problem helped me out, I now have a very successful inexpensive manual cleaning method. I am getting essentially no noise out of old dirty static filled lps. I just cleaned a few NEW lp’s, to check, no noise, so goodbye mold compounds, ..
If you get noise after this, something else is wrong!
......................
Listen to some music while doing this of course.
Wear thin plastic gloves to protect your hands and block finger oil
1. plastic sheet to protect the table below. smooth white, so you can see any/every speck. kitchen garbage bag, or, thin plastic table cloths from the party store, something.
2. lay lp flat
3. cover lp paper label with plastic lid diameter of label, i.e. chinese soup take-out lid.
4. spray cleaning fluid on lp (my home-made mix below)
5. CRITICAL: scrub fairly aggressively: circular, back and forth a few times, with soft multi bristle brush (pre-wet with cleaning fluid for 1st lp) try an lp you don’t care about, you will find you can be more aggressive than you think. this is what really cleans deep into the grooves.
6. flip, clean other side: place carefully so paper label goes down onto dry area of plastic
7. rinse in distilled water in the record cleaning kit. CRITICAL: Distilled Water ONLY!!! spin 2x each direction, it has fine brushes for final cleaning while rinsing.
8. use the two included cloths to handle/pre-dry the lp, and put in the included drying rack.
note: dry the center area of the plastic sheet where the paper label goes frequently with a separate cloth. dump distilled water after each batch of ten. rinse everything and dry between batches.
................................
Equipment
1. record cleaning kit with drying rack for 10 lps, $58.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GSSQ1MN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2. distilled water, $1.00 per gallon (check online for stock before going to the store)
https://grocery.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Distilled-Water-1-Gallon/10315382?wmlspartner=wlpa&se...
3. alcohol, 91%, $3.00
https://www.target.com/p/isopropyl-alcohol-91-32oz-up-up-8482/-/A-13970972?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&...
4. wetting agent. $4.00 I use Finish, Jet Dry (dishwasher stuff)
https://www.amazon.com/Finish-Jet-Dry-8-45oz-Dishwasher-Drying/dp/B0014E82II/ref=asc_df_B0014E82II/?...
5. soft multi-bristle brush, I found one in a drawer, but here’s a 3 pack, $9.00
https://smile.amazon.com/Scalp-Scrubbie-Sterile-Cradle-Sponge/dp/B005EJ7YH4/ref=sr_1_154_sspa?ascsub...=
..............................
my mix, nothing scientific, a small 6 oz spray bottle (8oz, 10, doesn’t matter)
1. a few drops of wetting agent
2. 1 cap of condensed cleaning fluid that came with the kit
3. fill with alcohol.
you may think it’s a pretty strong alcohol mix, but you will be rinsing right away, and, you will find, even that strong, finger oil spots will be very reduced but not fully disappear.
I’m loving how quiet my dirty old lp’s sound.
...................................
CLEAN STYLUS! Leave a small mirror on TT under your headshell, so you can see if the stylus is clean. Clean the stylus during if needed, and always after every listening session.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI8I2JM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
my friend uses gel stuff, loves it
https://coloredvinylrecords.com/blog/best-gel-type-stylus-cleaners/
............................
Still use Anti-Static brush before each play, DRY, just a light touch needed to get any paper sleeve dust, airborne dust.